To continue our Asian travelling theme, Kelly and I were joined by Erin, Justin Page, Justin Pray, Poly and Lindsay for 5 days over Lunar New Year. It was not disappointing.
We managed to all book the same fantastic hostel, called Peking Downtown Backpackers if interested, which was a 10 minute walk to a park/bar street and 15 minute cab ride to many attractions. When we first arrived we went on a stroll towards the park to see some of the city. That walk introduced us to the traditional Chinese new year's celebration of firecrackers. At first the firecrackers we heard were a cool celebratory thing, but 5 consecutive days of nonstop explosions got a little tiring.
For a little more tradition, we found a restaurant serving the holiday special of dumplings, of which we downed about 25 dumplings apiece. After the feast we came upon the park and saw the most amazing winter activity imaginable: ice biking! It couldn't have been cooler. A bike with 1 tire on the back, bracketed by 2 blades that acted like training wheels, with normal handlebars and a blade on the front. The steering was surprisingly responsive and the brakes weren't useless. It was the best $3/hour I've ever encountered.
Wednesday night was a sight to behold. It's hard to put into words, especially for an amateur as myself, so try and stay with me. The alley we stayed in is about 15 feet with, with 2 storey buildings on each side, many wires overhead, and trees up and down the avenue. We were told there would be a few fireworks, but the big celebrations would be in the countryside. We were deceived. By 10:00 there were fireworks ignited up and down the entire alleyway, as well as the endless cacophony of firecrackers. Flamable materials all around were ignored in the name of the party. Not a second went by where you couldn't see the flash of a firework. They were quality ones too, like you'd see at any display in Canada, just on a smaller scale. Kids lighting them, men lighting them with cigarettes, all basically asking to have massive facial burns. J.Pray had the idea to go up to the roof of our building and get a better look at the rest of the city, and what a look it was. Looking 360 degrees you could see non-stop fireworks. It was incredible, the total number of fireworks all 7 of us had seen in our lives didn't come close to the number we saw that 1 night. It was a scene, man.
On Thursday we did some of the famous sights like Forbidden City, Tiennamen Square, and the Temple of Heaven. They were decent. The highlights include a New Year's Day parade with people all dressed up, the Circular Mound (which is maybe 18 inches in diameter and raised 6 inches, the name's just hilariously translated) which people stand on and give a little prayer, a kid with a NASCAR racing jacket that was sponsered by Mralboor cigarettes, and scaffolding around 80% of the structures in Forbidden City. But we saw them.
Friday was the Great Wall. It's pretty big. The part we were on was called Simatai which isn't the most heavily traveled by tourists. We did a 7km hike, which was pretty tame in general. We were on the peak of a mountain ridge, so the wind was a little whippy, and it was cold, but the sun and walking kept you at a comfortable temperature. It has been kept surprisingly undeveloped in the area we walked, with mountains and 1 gas station as the only real surroundings, which was very nice. There were parts that had been rebuilt, but most of it seemed to be the original construction complete with crumbling watchtowers. It was what I thought it would be: big, extending as far as you could see, a little decrepit, and quite peaceful. I have now hiked a grand 0.1% of the Great Wall of China.
On Saturday we went to see some of the Olympic buildings and go shopping. Unfortunately the 'Bird's Nest' and Swimming Complex were completely inaccessible, but they looked nice from afar. We then went shopping, which was as cheap as the tales say. Polo golf shirts for $6, Versace/Tommy dress shirts for $8, etc. My best purchases were some stylish leather dress shoes, 2 pairs for about $60. Kelly's best deals were a Roxy sweatshirt for $18 and a Spyder ski jacket for $20. It was a good thing we packed light, because our bags were overflowing on the trip home.
On Saturday night we took in a Chinese acrobat show and it was incredible. There were around 8 acts, but I definitely had favourites. The dudes who set up a see-saw and used it as a catapult were sweet. One little guy stands on one end of the board, while a dude behind him balances a chair attached to a 20 foot pole on his head. A group of guys jump on the other end of the board, sending the little guy flying, doing 3 flips before landing on the chair. Next were the guys who set up rings of 2 sizes (maybe 1 foot & 2 feet wide) on a bench and ran/flipped/jumped through them. It finished with the bike rountine and about 14 women riding 1 bicycle. And these are the gymnastic rejects!
We flew out Sunday after visiting a temple and hitting one final market. China definitely has the most historical character out of any Asian country we visited. Thailand has more religion, Cambodia had 2 interesting periods but it felt like a gap from 1400-1950, Vietnam had the most recent rebuilding, and Japan had the most wealth. But none had as much palpable history as China, and certainly none merged the past with the present so well. I think the Olympics will be incredible. They seem intent on proving their worth to the world. The food was cheap and fantastic. Aside from their human rights record, I don't have a bad thing to say about the country. Which is too bad, because it's really a place I could get behind.
